


Deep Breath

by pocket_infinity



Series: Flame & Frost, Heart & Soul [2]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, M/M, PK can't take a break for his life, i mean that literally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25643791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocket_infinity/pseuds/pocket_infinity
Summary: The Pale King had been working. And working. And working. And working a bit more, on the side, so Grimm was a bit more than certain that the King needed a rest from all of it, and nothing was going to stop him from getting that wyrm a much-needed nap.
Relationships: Grimm/The Pale King (Hollow Knight), The Pale King/White Lady (Hollow Knight)
Series: Flame & Frost, Heart & Soul [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857532
Comments: 13
Kudos: 69





	Deep Breath

**Author's Note:**

> i will write a novel of fluff for this ship if i have to
> 
> also just wanted to mention that my tumblr is @pocket-infinity if you wanna pop by for whatever chaos is up there that day

The King let his head fall into his lower set of hands, their corresponding elbows stood on the table, while his upper pair held together the quickly-crumbling remains of another failed prototype. He let the remains of it drop down onto the stained silver table of his workshop as he rubbed his eyes and forehead, sighing before he tensed his fingers, burying them between the points of his crown—and they were points, given how his extensions were hastily dropped on a table a few feet to his left. He leaned back in his seat, sighing again as he brought his lower hands together while the upper ones fell to his sides. He pulled his legs up from the floor to sit cross-legged while his tail curled tightly around one of the legs of the chair. He permitted his head to fall, closing his eyes as he went silent.

Gods, and he’d thought the  _ Kingsmoulds _ had been a challenge. But who could’ve anticipated exactly how much the void could despise the notion of  _ wings _ , let alone those even remotely similar to a bug’s. He opened his eyes and tossed his head back over the edge of the chair, resting it there for a moment before leaning back into his work; he swept away the old metal bits that remained from the creation before snatching a jar with his lower right hand and scooping the void into it. A brief flash of Soul to the hands and any remaining trace of void vanished, leaving the table spotless for the next attempt. He set the jar on the table as he got up and crossed the root to his boxes of parts, collecting a new set of curved plates, joints, and pre-built synthetic wings. He casually dropped them down on the table as he fell into his seat, sighing once more as he held his head in his upper pair of arms, this time. Briefly, he started wondering whether or not he could even do this, whether or not it was  _ possible _ to begin with, and if he was wasting precious, precious  _ time _ on a pointless endeavor. But he pulled his head up, wiped his eyes despite nothing being there, and stared at the parts in front of him. Snatching three tools at once with his upper left hand, he held the hopefully soon-to-be construct with his other three, beginning the cautious process of bringing the joints together with multiple different types of connectors. He deftly switched his tools around in his left hand as he placed every single piece into its proper place, moving with a deep, well-honed focus—

Until the door creaked open across the room, and the King winced, despite his nature as a literal glowing god, at the light that streamed into the room, only somewhat blocked by a tall, lean silhouette. It let out a visible sigh before stepping into the room, leaving the door wide open.

“Please close the door, Grimm…” the wyrm mumbled, turning slightly to look at the figure.

“Not a chance,” Grimm’s voice replied as he continued closer to the King, placing his fingers between several spikes on his crown and rubbing the back of his head with a palm. “Do you even know how long you’ve been in here?”

“I don’t need to…” the Pale King mumbled again, turning his attention back to his work as best he could. The snap of Grimm’s fingers rang out as a cherry-red flame appeared on the other side of the King, further disrupting his focus. “Please leave me be,” the King said.

“It’s been 20 hours. Twenty consecutive hours of work, my lovely wyrm,” Grimm said, moving his one hand out of the King’s horns and placing both on his shoulders. “If you try to keep going, both you and the quality of your projects will suffer for it.” He slid his hands down over the King’s chest, tending towards the center of his robes before he ran his hands over them. “You need a break…” he said sweetly, seductively.

The Pale King snatched Grimm’s wrists with his lower hands as they drifted onto his abdomen. “Grimm, love, I’m not in the mood right now.”

“Of course,” Grimm said softly, pulling his hands to the back of the chair. “But you  _ do _ need to rest, really. I know that we’re gods and can reach farther than mortals, but this isn’t healthy. You need to take a breather—or at least one deep breath.”

The wyrm let out a sharp sigh. “No, Grimm. Not now.”

“Very well, then,” Grimm replied. “Since you leave me no other choice…”

“Wha-” the King said as Grimm wrapped his arms under the wyrm’s lowest arms and hoisted him up into the air, his tail unraveling from the leg as the chair fell over. His entire body wiggled in Grimm’s warm clutch, his tail thrashing back and forth. “Grimm, put me down-!”

“Nope—ah!” Grimm exclaimed as the wyrm’s tail slammed into his leg, knocking it out from under him and causing both of them to fall to the ground. Grimm laughed as he held his wyrm in a tight embrace on the floor, listening as the King let out a sigh and resigned himself to the hug. His eyes fluttered closed, then open, then closed again as he curled into Grimm.

“You’re so warm…” he commented. “It’s nice.”

“Just for you,” Grimm said with a smile. “But this is hardly the type of place to fall asleep. Come on, I’ll carry you to your chambers,” he continued, lifting the wyrm up and letting him nuzzle his pale little face into the Troupe Master’s shoulder.

“Our chambers,” the King whisper-mumbled into Grimm’s shoulder.

“Hm?” Grimm asked. The King’s eyes opened for a moment before he closed them again.

“M-my crown,” he said, pointing in the vague direction of another table. “I need it.”

“You look magnificent without it, love, but I’ll make sure it comes with us, alright?” Grimm said, planting a soft kiss on the King’s neck. The wyrm nodded gently. Grimm stood himself up fully, letting the wyrm wrap his tail around Grimm’s arm as he moved out of the room, snatching the ring of extenders from the table and hanging it off of one of his own horns.

“Have I ever told you how cute you are?” Grimm whispered to the King.

“Every day for the past two months,” he replied, his voice muffled by Grimm’s shoulder.

“And it’s no less true right now,” Grimm said, peppering the wyrm’s face and neck with kisses.

“Hrmm… Grimm, wait until we’re in private for that…” the King mumbled.

“As you wish,” Grimm said.

“Thank you,” the wyrm replied as he started to get that fog-like feeling, almost as if he were swimming through some unknown water as his eyelids laid heavier upon him. As he sank deeper towards sleep, his grip on his glow loosened, and a faint white hue emanated from his body.

“I wish you would let yourself glow more often, darling,” Grimm said, turning a corner in the hall and starting to climb a staircase.

“It bothers people when it’s on for too long,” the Pale King mumbled.

“Well it’ll never bother me,” Grimm smiled.

“Thank you…” the King said.

“For what?” Grimm asked as he reached the top of the staircase and made another turn.

“Coming back after that first night.”

“No, thank  _ you _ , my sweet king,” Grimm said, rubbing his cheek against the Pale King’s, “for reaching out. We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t had that courage.”

“I’m not courageous,” the King said, rousing from his tiredness slightly. “I’m weak. Can’t even finish a stupid invention…”

“Wyrm, do you know how many times I’ve flubbed a show?” Grimm asked.

“Zero,” the Pale King said flatly.

“More times than the number of years I’ve been alive. Failure isn’t the single thing that makes us up, my love. There is so much more to you; don’t forget that.”

“Alright…” the King mumbled.

“You are  _ so _ great, King. Just look at this kingdom you’ve built: Hallownest. Shining silver structures, incredible inventions, and peace with three hostile bordering nations. No ordinary man could do this—no  _ extra _ ordinary man could do this,” Grimm said as he approached the door to the monarch’s chambers. “You are something magnificent, and nobody before or after will even hope to be able to match what you’ve already done thus far, let alone hold a candle to what you’re going to do. Don’t give up on yourself because you’re tripping up on an entirely new and unexplored problem.”

“You’re…” the King trailed off. “Grimm, you’re so great. I just— I don’t— I can’t imagine life without you.”

“Then it’s a good thing you won’t have to,” Grimm said as he pushed the door open with his back.

He stepped in to find the White Lady right where she’d been when they last spoke: lying on the bed with a book in her lap. The difference this time, however, was that her glasses were folded up on the nightstand next to her as she gazed longingly out the window at some of the palace’s gardens. Her head swiveled towards the door as Grimm entered, and her expression immediately brightened to pure joy as she laid eyes on her little wyrm coiled up in his arms. She was quick to throw the covers off and stand before Grimm walked over towards the bed. She settled in as Grimm set the exhausted Pale King down against her. The Troupe Master looked at his love for a moment before turning back towards the exit.

“Wait,” the King said softly. Both Grimm and the White Lady turned to him. “Can you stay with me? I don’t wanna get cold…”

“Of course,” Grimm said, placing a hand to his chest as his heart melted. He came to the edge of the bed before glancing at the White Lady, who nodded silently to him with a smile before he clambered on, coming up next to the wyrm and letting him lean on him. The King let out a satisfied sigh as he laid between his wife and his boyfriend.

“I love you two…” he said. Grimm glanced at the White Lady, perplexed.

“Who’s the ‘too’?” He asked her.

“T- _ W _ -O,” she replied. “And I love you, too, my little wyrm.”

“Ah,” Grimm said. “I love you too, my sweet wyrm.”

The King nuzzled his head into Grimm’s body, finding refuge in the warmest part of his chest, so close to his heart that the wyrm could faintly hear it beating as he drifted off into sleep, his breaths growing gentle and stable as his glow rose to its natural, beautiful brightness.

“So how’d you get him out of his cavern?” The White Lady asked.

“I tried to convince him, but I’ll be honest, I just pulled him out of his chair,” Grimm said, shrugging.

“Using my techniques, I see,” the White Lady said, looking at Grimm from the corner of her eye with a smile.

“Well, great minds, and all that,” he replied, both of them grinning at the remark before Grimm’s smile melted to something much softer. “Thank you for letting both of us have him,” he said.

“It’s my pleasure,” she replied. “You should see how much happier he is now that he has you, too.”

“Now that he has both of us,” Grimm corrected.

“Now that he has both of us,” the White Lady confirmed.

“Welp,” Grimm said, stretching his arms above his head, “I’ll let you two have some cuddle time. I’ve got a bit to do with my Troupe and their new housing, anyways.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re going to get away with that,” the White Lady said, pointing to the King. “He’s right on you.”

“Really?” Grimm asked, craning his neck. “I thought he was mostly on you—looked like it, anyways.”

The White Lady glanced down towards her feet before leaning forwards slightly to get a better look at the two men. “Seems he’s on both of us.”

“Well then,” Grimm said, setting his hands down and leaning back. “I suppose we’ve got some time on our hands—anything interesting been happening in Hallownest at large?”

“Have you seen the papers?” The White Lady asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No I have not,” Grimm said. “Care to enlighten me? We’ve got, what, 10 hours to kill?”

“Oh 13, at least,” the White Lady replied, “but where to even  _ start _ with some of these…”

“Why not the beginning?” Grimm asked, smiling.

“The beginning,” she confirmed.

**Author's Note:**

> my boys are too soft and the white lady is so supportive :))
> 
> again that tumblr is @pocket-infinity


End file.
